Batista
Batista is a team in the GHL based in Fremont, California. They currently play in League 634 of Tier 4. They play their home games at the Wofner Arena in Fremont, CA. Franchise History The New Beginning A new ownership group, led by Ismail Omar Guelleh, bought a really crappy team in the GHL's League 1483 in Tier 5 (which there are many of) for $25,000,000 USD in the middle of Season 11. Their hired general manager, Teddy Long, quickly remade the team to try and salvage the rest of the season. They finished out Season 11 going 14-21-3 and missed the playoffs. Championship Run During the offseason, the Batista made many moves in both the trade market and free agency. Key pickups included the signing of current team captain Collin Yusi and Evlampiy Nikolaev, both rookies at the time. They also mad a trade for Porfiry Alexandriov. The Batista lost their third game against new rival TBaggers, which had also been formed recently. Afterwards, Batista lost just two more games, one in overtime, ending the season 35-2-1. One regular season highlight was their victory over the TBaggers, handing them their only outright loss in the season. Playoffs In the first round, the Batista swept an AI team, including a 13-0 win. They also swept their opponent in the second round. The Batista were destined to face their archrival TBaggers in the finals. Finals In Game 1, the TBaggers were able to eek out a victory over the Batista. However, energized by the EjamTV Arena crowd, the Batista won Game 2 with ease. In Game 3, the TBaggers got the lead early and held it for a long while. But, with 45 seconds left and an empty net for Batista, the TBaggers recieved two quick penalties, followed by a penalty against Batista's top goal scorer, Don Hogland. But, the advantage was enough for Kim Smirnov to score with 28 seconds left and send the game to overtime, which was won by Batista on a goal by Houston Rose. Movin' On Up The Batista were introduced into League 634 of Tier 4. Offseason moves included signing Jerrold Feather and Rueben Spencer. They also made a trade to get Stephan Esquivias. During the season, they made trades for Herman Ailsworth, Gail Terboss, Olin Boisselle, and Young Elsasser. The season went better than expected for the Batista, considering the new move up. They also were able to win a major upset against the Wakefield Warriors, which was their only loss of the season. The Batista ended the season 32-3-3. Playoffs They swept the first series easily against an AI team. In the second round, they were swept by the Who Dares Wins. Championship Run, Part 2? Before the season, one representative of the Batista said, "I believe we have a good number of pieces to get to the championship. With a couple more additions, we could make a real run for the trophy." More moves were made in Season 14. Teddy Long brought in Edwardo Storz via free agency and Anibal Wooden, Michael Aleizar, and Prokl Voronov via trades. The Batista have a deal to acquire another player via trade, but are not saying who. Captains Werner Doose- Season 11-12 Collin Yusi- Season 13-Present Captaincy Changes *During season 13, the locker room voted to have Yusi as the team captain instead of Doose. This angered Doose, as he was not chosen as an assistant either. Head Coaches Marquis Midgette- Season 11-Present Season-by-season record ''Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, OTL = Overtime Losses, Pts = Points, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against'' Current Roster Note: *Voronov prefers 14. Feuds There have been many feuds in the Batista's locker room. Batista vs. TBaggers These two teams were rivals during season 12 in League 1483 at the top two teams in the league by far. Both temas knew that they would probably have to face the other in the championship series. In the first game, a brawl occured in the second period that led to 160 penalty minutes being handed out. In the second game, many one-on-one fights took place, resulting in a total of 22 penalties. During on of the fights, the league's leading scorer, Noak Auland, was injured and out for a month. In the end, the Batista came out on top. Don Hogland vs. Kim Smirnov They were both players on the Batista for its first three seasons of existence. Their rivalry began as a competetion for the title as the top goal scorer on the team. Don Hogland ended up winning this both times, earning him bragging rights. However, Kim Smirnov has the distinction of being the one who scored the game-tying goal in Game 3, something Hogland did not appreciate. Hogland said he "could have scored that goal if that ref didn't call that high stick." The rivalry boiled over, and the two had a fist fight on the bench. After season 13, Teddy Long traded Don Hogland away. "We appreciate Don's services to the team." When asked why Hogland and not Smirnov, he simply said, "He has more value. Period." Edwardo Storz vs. Baltasar Liebe These two openly didn't like each other. Liebe felt that his spot on the team is threatened by Storz, and that he is a puckhog. Storz believed Liebe is just being an a**hole, and that Liebe can't accept the fact that he is less talented than Storz. Liebe and Storz appeared to have settled their differences for the time being. Wofner Arena *Originally known as The Oracle, Mobius Stadium, and EjamTV Arena. *The Wofner TV arena seats 7,800 people. *The beer served at the Wofner Arena is known as "the best beer in the 4th tier." *The scoreboard was donated by Mr. Edwards. *Bob the Bull, a large mechanical head of a bull, hangs from the ceiling. Smoke blows out of its ears every time the Batista score and after ever victory. It is not to be confused with Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer. *Wofner Arena is also the home of the professional wrestling federation Wrestling of the Future. Two shows are taped every week- Saturday Morning Madness and The Tuesday Show.